Georges Brassens

Georges Brassens (Sète, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, October 22, 1921-Saint-Gély-du-Fesc, near Montpellier, October 29, 1981) was a French singer-songwriter, relevant exponent of both the chanson française and the anarchist trova of the XX century.

He achieved fame thanks to the melodies of his songs, simple and elegant; and her lyrics, varied and elaborate. He is considered one of the best French poets of the postwar period (he won the National Poetry Prize). He set poems by many other writers to music, such as Louis Aragon, Victor Hugo, Jean Richepin, François Villon and others. Outside of his country, he has performed in Switzerland, Belgium, Canada and England. The live recording of Brassens singing in London the «Ballade des dames du temps jadis», a poem by the aforementioned Villon where the author wonders «and what happened to Juana, the good Lorraine that the English burned in Rouen», is famous.

In French, his songs have been performed by various singers and comedians such as Salvatore Adamo, Carla Bruni, Coluche, Manu Dibango, Juliette Gréco, Françoise Hardy, Noir Désir, Francis Cabrel, Barbara, Sylvie Vartan, Joan Baez, Juliette Greco, Johnny Hallyday, Victoria Abril, Emmanuelle Béart, Thomas Dutronc, Charles Aznavour, Line Renaud and Alain Souchon.

The first to interpret his songs in Spanish were Paco Ibáñez, who sang several of his songs during his long Parisian exile translated by Pierre Pascal; and in Spain, Jesús Munárriz (founder of the Hiperión publishing house), who translated some songs by Brassens that he used to sing in sporadic performances (and almost always declared illegal) and also Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio; in Argentina Nacha Guevara and Jorge Schussheim, at the end of the sixties at the Di Tella Institute in Buenos Aires interpreted Le pornographe and Marinette, respectively; Also in Spain, the Argentines Claudin and Alberto Gambino released an LP with 12 songs by Brassens in 1971. One of the best-known songs in this series was “La mala reputación” (La mauvaise réputation), whose Spanish version was later adapted by Paco Ibáñez from the protest song tradition, the rock singer Loquillo, the Argentine folk rock band Arbolito. Brassens is also performed by the Spanish Javier Krahe (La tormenta, Marieta and some unedited), Joaquín Carbonell and the Chilean singer-songwriter Eduardo Peralta, who even has a complete album dedicated to Brassens, which contains, among others, versions of: «Brave Margot », «Fernande», «Jeanne», «Le fossoyeur»; in addition to others excellently achieved such as "Historia de falsidad" and "La guerra del 14".

Brassens' songs were also translated and performed by other lesser-known singers, such as the Uruguayan Julio Canapa, the French Antoine Candelas.

Brassens died of cancer in 1981, in Saint-Gely-du-Fesc, after having suffered from health problems for many years, and was buried at the Cimetière le Py in Sète.

In 2009, the Spanish singer-songwriter Albert García translated "Les copains d'abord" under the name "Compañeros de viaje", one of the best-known songs by Brassens in France, but which, unlike "La mauvaise reputation», «Marinette» or «Le gorille», had not yet been published in Spanish.

It has also been translated into Spanish by Agustín García Calvo (19 songs).

In addition, in the Catalan language, Josep Maria Espinàs, Guillermina Motta and, later, the singer-songwriter Miquel Pujadó have sung about Brassens in the 1960s, dedicating several of their records to his work. In this language there is also a version of "La fille à cent sous" sung by Joan M. Serrat.

Brassens has also been translated into Italian by Fabrizio De André.

Georges Brassens tomb in Sète.

Discography

Brassens with his famous pipe in 1964.

Brassens in 1964.

relief portrait of Georges Brassens on a commemorative plaque.

Georges Brassens Park in Paris.

Studio recordings

The Wind (1953)

Le Vent / J'ai rendez-vous avec vous / Bancs publics ou Les Amoureux des bancs publics / Ballade des dames du temps jadis / Comme hier / Pauvre Martin / Brave Margot / Il suffit de passer le pont / La Cane de Jeanne / La Marine / Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux

Les Sabots d'Hélène (1954)

Les Sabots d'Hélène / Chanson pour l'Auvergnat / La Première Fille / La Prière / Gastibelza / La Mauvaise Herbe / Une jolie fleur / Je suis un voyou / Le Mauvais Sujet repenti / Putain de toi

Je Me Suis Fait All Petit (1956)

Je me suis fait tout petit / Auprès de mon arbre / Marinette / Le Testament / Les Croquants / La Légende de la nonne / Le Nombril des femmes d’agents / Colombine

Oncle Archibald (1957)

Oncle Archibald / L’Amandier / La Marche nuptiale / Au bois de mon cœur / Celui qui a mal tourné / Grand-père / Les Lilas / Philistins / Le Vin

Le Pornographe (1958)

Le Pornographe / Le Vieux Léon / La Femme d'Hector / À l'ombre du cœur de ma mie / Le Cocu / La Ronde des jurons / Comme une sœur / Bonhomme

Les Funérailles d'antan (1960)

Les Funérailles d'antan / Le Mécréant / Embrasse-les tous / Le Père Noël et la Petite Fille / Le Bistrot / L'Orage / Pénélope / Le Verger du roi Louis

Le temps ne fait rien à l'affaire (1961)

Le temps ne fait rien à l'affaire / Dans l'eau de la claire fontaine / La Traîtresse / La Ballade des cimetières / La Complainte des filles de joie / Tonton Nestor / Le Temps passé / La Fille à cent sous

Les Trumpettes de la renommée (1962)

Les Trumpettes de la renommée / Jeanne / Je rejoindrai ma belle / Marquise / La Guerre de 14-18 / Les Amours d'antan / L'Assassinat / La Marguerite / Si le Bon Dieu l' avait voulu

Les Copains d'abord (1964)

Les Copains d'abord / Les 4 z'arts / Le Petit Joueur de flûteau / La Tondue / Le 22 septembre / Les Deux oncles / Vénus callipyge / Le Mouton de Panurge / La Route aux 4 chansons / Saturne / Le Grand Pan

Beg for être buried on the beach of Sète (1966)

Supplie pour être enterré à la plage de Sète / Le Fantôme / La Fessée / Le Pluriel / Les Quatre bacheliers / Le Bulletin de santé / La Non-demande en mariage / Le Grand Chêne / Concurrence déloyale / L'Épave / Le Moyenâgeux

Misogynie à part (1969)

Misogynie à part / Bécassine / L'Ancêtre / Rien à jeter / Les Oiseaux de passage / La Religieuse / Pensées des morts / La Rose, la bouteille et la poignée de main / Sale petit bonhomme

Fernande (1972)

Fernande / Stances à un cambrioleur / La ballade des gens qui sont nés quelque part / La Princesse et le croque-notes / Sauf le respect que je vous dois / Le Blason / Mourir pour des idées / Quatre-vingt-quinze pour cent / Les Passantes / Le Roi / À l'ombre des maris

Trompe la mort (1976)

Trompe la mort / Les Ricochets / Tempête dans un bénitier / Le boulevard du temps qui passe / Le Modeste / Don Juan / Les Casseuses / Cupidon s'en fout / Montélimar / Histoire de faussaire / La Messe au pendu / Milk-cocu / Les Patriotes / Mélanie

Note

This list does not include his 78 R.P.M. —In which there were already songs like «Le gorille», which was her first hit, and «La mauvaise réputation», among others. All of them were interpreted by Georges Brassens accompanying himself only with the guitar. It is more of a collector's item. Neither did an album recorded live or another in which Brassens interpret songs by other authors appear in the previous list.

Filmography

With Brassens

• Porte des LilasRene Clair (1957)

About Brassens

• Brassens, la mauvaise réputation (Brassens, poet and anarchist), by Gérard Marx (2011)

Books

• Georges Brassens. 19 songs with version to sing by Agustín García Calvo. Lucina. Madrid, 1983. ISBN 84-85708-19-9

Some of his best-known songs

Georges Brassens in 1952.

• La mauvaise réputation (The bad reputation). One of the best known in Spanish-speaking countries. Some interpreters: Arbolito, Paco Ibáñez, Nacha Guevara, Claudina and Alberto Gambino, Eduardo Peralta, Loquillo. There is also a translation by Agustín García Calvo, which was recorded by Antonio Selfa.

• Marinette. It was published by Brassens on the album Je me suis fait tout petit (1956). There are Spanish versions of Julio Ardiles Gray, Javier Krahe, Cleotilde Acosta, Leo Masliah, Luis Pescetti and Horacio Cerván. In euskera, it has been translated and interpreted by Txomin Artola and later also interpreted by Anje Duhalde.
• Le gorille (The gorilla). It counts sarcasticly the anecdote of a gorilla with a great virile member (thing admired by women) who escapes from his cage. Since the ape has not yet begun his sexual life, the first thing he tries after his escape is copular and for this he grabs a judge who was in the place. The song contrasts the unshakable character with which the judges sentence the guillotine in the face of this magistrate's distress as he was violated by the animal. The chorus of the song (Gare au Gori-i-i-i-ille, "care with the gorilla") is widely known. This song was considered pornographic and banned for some time. It has been translated into Spanish by Agustín García Calvo, Ardiles Gray, Joaquín Carbonell, Antoine Candelas and Eduardo Peralta; to the Greek (Русский) by Christos Thivaios for the album Meres Adespotes of his band Synitheis Ypoptoi; Italian (Il gorilla) by Fabrizio De André; the Milanese (The gorilla) by Nanni Svampa; the Polish (Goryl) by the tax band Zespół Reprezentacyjny; to the Hebrew (.Горила) by Mark Freidkin and by Alexandre Avamessov; the Czech (Byl jednou jeden goril) by Jiří Dědeček; the German (Vorsicht!) by Franz Josef Degenhardt; EnglishBeware the gorilla) by Jack Thackray and Catalan (The goril·la) by JM.Espinàs.
• Chanson pour l'auvergnat. One of the best known in France. Some interpreters: Paco Ibáñez, Juliette Gréco and Manu Dibango.
• Les copains d'abord. Oda al compañerismo that has ended up as an hymn to friendship in France. Through the metaphor of the boat trip, he narrates the insights that the relationships with our fellow men go through during our existence. It was translated into Spanish in 2009 by the Spanish singer Albert García, with the title "Compañeros de viaje" and recorded with the curious title of a four Venezuelan, on his album "Boulevard". Georges Moustaki composed a song in response to this work by Brassens, which titled "Les amis de Georges".

Tribute

• In 2000 the Argentine group of Folcklore-Rock "Arbolito" published the theme "The Bad Reputation"
• In 2006 the Chilean singer Angel Parra, son of Violeta Parra, composed a tribute album to Brassens, titled Party with Georges Brassenswhich includes versions of some of his works.
• Paco Ibáñez sings Brassens
• Ils blackent Brassens
• Emma Junaro and Willy Claure sing to Georges Brassens, "El Paraguas", (Bolivia, 1996)
• Carbonell sings to Brassens, 1996